Author Wes Locher has teamed up with Stratics for a giveaway of his new book Braving Britannia. This book explores the history and impact of Ultima Online and includes interviews from current and past dev team members as well as many UO and Stratics community members. Click here for more details!

For Spring 2018 we are once again creating two rare items to celebrate, a lepus mask and easter basket. Rumors also abound concerning the return of the dreaded Arch Lapin!

Sacred Orb of Obliteration

2018 Easter Basket

R51 Postmortem Telethon Results

Our Release 51 Postmortem Telethon was a huge success and achieved a bunch of our Stretch Goal Rewards! A heartfelt thank you from the entire Dev Team to all of you, our backers, that have contributed to the development funding of Shroud of the Avatar. Friday’s Telethon was yet another example of your amazing support and contributions!

The total as of 07:00 PM CDT, March 2nd was an amazing:

** $110,000 **​

As promised, Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards will be rewarded to any backers that pledged a minimum of $5 from 12:00 PM CDT to Midnight March 2nd (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). These rewards should show up on your account page within the next couple of weeks and will begin showing up in the game over the next few releases starting as soon as Release 53.

NOTE: We stopped tracking towards stretch goals at the end of the telethon at 7:00 PM CDT.

We had deep dives, world building tours, answered questions, danced, sang, spun the Wheel of Fortune for flash sales, and handed out tons of prizes!

Did you not get your question answered? Fret not! Starr “Darkstarr” Long (with help from the rest of the team) will answer some of the questions that we did not have time to answer during the telethon at some point in the forums next week.

Win a Game Key with Loot to Shroud of the Avatar!

The launch of Shroud of the Avatar is coming up on March 27 and we’re celebrating in a big way by giving away bundles of the game and in-game items at SXSW! Even those that can’t make it out to see us can participate in the fun!

Here’s what you need to know. There are two separate giveaways, one that starts now and ends on April 2 after SXSW and Launch. This is an All-Players Sweepstakes that anyone can sign up for. The second giveaway is exclusive for those who visit our booth at SXSW. Together these giveaways include a chance for you to win a free game key and some additional sweet in-game loot.

To participate in this giveaway, all you need to do is have an account on the Meretz App. Users of the app will receive points that go toward one of the following prizes. Anyone can participate, though anyone at SXSW and completes the scavenger hunt portion will receive a bonus amount of entries toward the prizes below.

How to Get Entries:

Get 3,000 Meretz Points per day (worth 1 sweepstakes entry)

10 bonus entries per Scavenger Hunt check-in at SXSW (details will be posted at our booth)

Keep an eye out for “Easter eggs” for extra bonus entries!

See the Meretz app for additional details

Digital Prizes:

Grand Prize: A Town Bundle of their choice (value: $1699)

2nd Prize: A Village Tax Free Bundle of their choice (value: $574)

3rd Prize: A 2-Story Row Bundle of their choice (value: $299)

The sweepstakes will conclude a couple of weeks after SXSW on April 2 with winners announced on that week’s Community Livestream.

Entries are confirmed by using the Meretz App, so be sure you are running the app when on the scavenger hunt or elsewhere! You can check your progress in the app.

NO DOLLAR VALUE PURCHASE NECESSARY. THIS IS A CHANCE-BASED CONTEST. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

GIVEAWAY #2: Daily Booth Giveaway

Visit the booth (#2516) each day to pick up a ticket for a chance to win a free game key! Participants must be present at 5:30pm CT back at the booth for the drawing. Winners are randomly selected with 5 entries given away each day. Tickets may be redeemed on other days while at SXSW, but can only be redeemed once.

Dev+ Asset Pack Program Take 2: Cabalists, Boars, & Norgard Outfits

As we stated back in our weekly update #238 we have temporarily reinstated the Dev+ Asset Pack Program that expired when the pledges expired. This week we added three more asset packs for our backers at Developer level and above: Cabalists, Boars and Norgard Outfits (Barbarians, etc).

NPC Submission Request: Graff Island

Earlier this release Scott “Lum” Jennings posted our latest request for NPC submissions for Graff Island. This is for Developer+ level backers who are eligible for the “Design an NPC” reward “Help create and name a character in the game”.

For reference here is our current status on which towns we have done this work on and which towns remain to be done:

Thank you for your continuing support of Shroud of the Avatar! This month, we’re seeking entries for inhabitants of Graff Island!

Graff Island is the home of the spectacularly wealthy Graff family. Their patriarch, Lauran Graff, discovered the secret magic locked within the games found in his namesake mine, and mages throughout the realm seek out Mystic Graff Gems for the potency of their spellcrafting. This has made the Graff’s private island a popular and wealthy retreat – both for those wanting a bit of safety off the beaten track, and for those wishing to find a way to reach the notorious Master Graff himself!

Graff Island is the only town we will be seeking submissions from for R52, due to other work being done this release. If you do NOT want your backer NPC to be in Graff Island, you may want to wait. I will update this thread if we are running low on submissions – generally we are OK on duplicate submissions for characters who don’t get adopted (such as guards) but if you absolutely have a character who should be in a given city (such as Brittany) you should wait until we advertise for that city.

First, some brief notes:

Graff Island is one of our “uncloning” scenes, where we go back and fill out unique content for each village and city. Thus, the NPCs are already in the game, but we can change appearance (to a degree, as seen below), gender, etc. to suit your request. If you want to pick a specific NPC (for example, one near your own house) we will do our best to accomodate you but may not be able to.

NPC visual customization, as you may have noticed, is still at a very early stage in development. Right now for the backers who want to be added to Graff Island, we cannot offer any visual customization options beyond our standard gallery of NPC models. If you would like to have input over the visual customization of your NPC, you can wait for further releases when we can offer this. We will also allow a one-time visual re-customization once customization has been added if you would like to add your NPC now.

Response to this will be on a first-come first-served basis for each call for responses. If your NPC doesn’t appear in Graff Island, feel free to respond again in future posts. We have quite a few towns and cities to populate (over 18, actually…)

We are allowing people who have already submitted NPCs to submit their ideas for Graff Island as well if they like, but people who have not yet submitted an NPC will take priority over those who have.

When responding, please list a first and second choice for profession.

There are a few NPCs which already have been placed as part of the main quest (Lauran Graff, etc.) which will not be changed.

NPCs for Graff Island can be human. And no, you can’t be related to the Graffs.

NPC background (optional): A paragraph on whom your NPC is, how they would respond to nosy outlanders poking about their business, what brings them to Graff Island (or keeps them there), or anything else you’d like to add. We reserve the right to edit and/or reject any background that does not fit the lore and setting of the game.

Please specify in your submission that this NPC is for Graff Island.

We will respond if: your NPC is used; if it is rejected for whatever reason (such as an inappropriate name); if a supplied background is inappropriate, or if your NPC missed the cutoff for this release.

Please note this is a reward for Founder era Developer level or above pledges.

Thanks for your support, and hope you find a gem in Graff Island!

URGENT: Confirm Your Physical Rewards Shipping Address!

We are extending the deadline to confirm your physical address to March 9, 2018.

If you are receiving physical goods as part of pledge rewards, and have not yet confirmed your physical address, please do so now.

For those who are receiving physical goods and have confirmed their physical addresses, you will receive another email from us stating the shipping address we have for you on file. At that time, please verify we have the correct address.

Thank you for your patience! We could not have made Shroud of the Avatar without your support!

Community Livestream: Playing Release 51

In last week’s Community Livestream, we checked out Release 51! Join us as we start with South Midmaer Way!

South Midmaer Way used to be the location of a thriving city with lovely canals on the shore of a large lake in an otherwise arid region. The city grew rich on trade as it sat astride the main road. The rulers of the city built tombs to themselves among the cliffs and hid their treasures in them, defended by traps of course! However, the lake dried up and the town was abandoned. Now opportunistic Satyrs have set up a bazaar in the ruins and Plunderers raid the tombs.

From AERIE Fund: We’re excited to announce the next episode of AERIE Fund LIVE – a monthly news/talk show on Twitch focusing on charitable works in gaming, community causes, and special guests from the gaming development and streaming world who are making a difference.

Batten down the hatches! The Lord of Chaos himself will join the AERIE Fund crew as we celebrate the official launch of Shroud of the Avatar! We’ll chat about Portalarium’s awesome new title (SotA), their groundbreaking road to launch, and the altruistic culture Portalarium has built around the importance of giving and gaming. Don’t miss it!

A spokesperson from Water.org will also join us to discuss their important work in tackling the global water crisis, how you can help in their mission, and our Ripple Effect 2018 Community Cause campaign.

Visit AERIE Fund on YouTube to catch all the archived action. Subscribe and we’ll do a happy dance!

Free Trial: Choose Any Path!

With Release 50, Free Trial users can now choose any of the three paths (Truth, Love, or Courage) to start, but after selection are locked to that single path going forward. We changed this from locking them to a path that we had chosen (Courage) because we felt this misrepresented a core part of the brand of the game, which is “choice in all things” (ex. choosing your path, no classes, choose virtue/non-virtue, etc.).

Free Trial access allows you to play the entire game in any of the Online modes with a few key differences in game play. You will be able to explore hundreds of scenes, talk with thousands of players, adventure through the opening quests, and gain experience and skills as you get used to the world of New Britannia!

Here is the updated list of Visitor limits:

The term (Visitor) is appended to their character name

Max skill level set to 50

NEW! Limited to a single Story Path (Truth, Love or Courage)

Cannot purchase nor sell items via Player Vendors nor Public Vendors

No ownership of player property nor use of player property signs

Cannot move/interact with items on a player property (even if given permissions)

Cannot interact with public chests

Cannot give items to other players via Trade or Mail

Cannot flag as Open PVP

Cannot gain nor create ransom items when you kill or are killed in PVP (in Open PVP zones)

Character data may be deleted if not eventually upgraded to a paid account

Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.

The Magnificent Trophy Rooms Contest Winners

This year’s trophy room contest received many amazing submissions! Entire trophy rooms were designed with hours of work going into making each trophy.

Top 3 Winners are awarded 50 COTOs and 1 dev skull of their choice, and the runner-ups are awarded 25 COTOs and 1 skull of their choice.

Join AERIE Fund as we support Water.org in their mission to deliver access to safe water and sanitation to communities in the developing world.

Water.org is an international nonprofit organization that has positively transformed millions of lives around the world through access to safe water and sanitation. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org pioneers market-driven financial solutions to the global water crisis. For more than 25 years, they’ve been providing families with hope, health and the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.

By Therdan Redwauld: “The Library of Spiritual Knowledge in Diamond Fields was created to provide a place to showcase player created content. The tremendous work which individuals undertake in building actively useful resources, great fiction, and quality music, continues to amaze me. I really wanted to build something which did those efforts justice and provide a great source of game knowledge and entertainment to everyone who plays Shroud of the Avatar.

The library provides players a significant volume of material covering everything from guides to fiction to musical scores. I also wanted to provide a number of ways people can get involved in evolving and building out the library content, and also naturally profit from their efforts and contribution.

Chris ‘Atos’ Spears talks tech with community member Violation Clauth as they restart their regular Tech Talk series! Watch this week’s recording below as they talk about the latest gameplay performance improvements:

Avatars! This is Elgarion from @SotAHelp with a regular “Did You Know?” feature. Expect to see these posted regularly on community channels, and here in the weekly update.

Did you know@ShroudofAvatar features a quest system tied to the Virtues? Many difficult choices await! Will you opt for Courage over Truth? Love over Courage? Is there a right or wrong? What will The Oracle see? Her Watchers are watching all across New Britannia!
​

For future weekly updates, we will be rotating these Did You Knows with the Getting Started Videos and other community How-To posts. If you have a tip to share, please send them to Berek!

We’ve been following the development of Underworld Ascendant for a while now, ever since it appeared on Kickstarter. New updates have been posted as the game approaches a launch in the second half of 2018:

Underworld Ascendant is the next-generation follow-up to Ultima Underworld, the critically acclaimed series credited with creating the ‘Immersive Sim’ genre and influencing such game series as Bioshock, Deus Ex, Dishonored, Elder Scrolls, and even Minecraft. OtherSide Entertainment, which includes original creators of the Ultima Underworld series, is innovating upon the series’ signature player-authored gameplay in bold new ways.

Stratics is the oldest continually running MMORPG Fansite on the Internet. Founded in 1997 Stratics has served the Ultima Online Community for 18 years. We strive to provide the most complete social experience for Ultima Online players.